Budget 2018

Budget 2018: While the Budget did not touch upon legislative changes required in IGST and CGST Acts, the fact that increase in customs duty rates would garner significant revenues, which would offset the decline in GST revenues, is undeniable.

Budget 2018: The telecom sector is amongst the highest FDI contributors to the economy (Rs 1.3 lakh crore), and the second-largest investor in infrastructure (Rs 9.2 lakh crore). It contributes 6.5% to the GDP, paying Rs 70,000 crore in FY17 only and employing 40 lakh people directly and indirectly.

Budget 2018: For the last budget in this term of the government, the FM has done well to bring back the focus on sectors that provide employment and livelihood to the largest sections of the population.

Budget 2018: The action plan is aimed at reducing the out-of-pocket spending on health to 50% by 2020 from 63.4% at present. For both of these targets to be reached, the Budget had to signal the beginning of a steady annual rise in the allocation for health.

Budget 2018: The idea is to deepen the corporate bond market and nudge companies to diversify their sources of funding. Finance minister Arun Jaitley said the Reserve Bank of India has issued guidelines to nudge corporates access the bond market.

Budget 2018: Bond markets sold off sharply on Thursday spooked by higher than expected fiscal deficit estimates and fears that food inflation would rise with stronger support for crop prices via minimum support prices (MSP).

Budget 2018: The government, he said, has also initiated the process of strategic disinvestment in 24 CPSEs, including the strategic privatisation of Air India. Strategic divestment could be a key revenue mobiliser in the coming fiscal as concluding such deals should be easier.

Budget 2018: The Budget attempts to juggle the competing interests of various people to maximise political, fiscal and economic capital. The Budget made some interesting changes to financial regulations.

Budget 2018: A key new scheme was introduction of a national health protection scheme to cover 100 mn families and 500 mn beneficiaries. The aim is to provide Rs 5 lakh benefit per family per year for hospitalisation. How this scheme will be rolled out and how it will be funded will be important to watch.

Budget 2018: Currently, LTCG tax on debt funds is 20% with inflation indexation benefit, while equity holdings of more than one year did not attract LTCG tax. All LTCG gains on equities till January 31, 2018 have been grandfathered thus ensuring the 10% tax is well-balanced.

Budget 2018: Advent of GST and exclusion of petroleum sector from its purview has meant much higher costs for the domestic oil industry. While the government is making efforts to align states and bring the petroleum sector under GST, it should take measures to clarify that there will be no GST on royalty and cost recovery.

Budget 2018: The government’s plan to merge three general insurance companies — National Insurance Company, United India Assurance Company and Oriental India Insurance Company — will create one of the largest general insurance entities.

Budget 2018: Finance minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget speech said, “In addition to tax concessions, I propose to extend the PMVVY up to March, 2020 under which an assured return of 8% is given by Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).

Budget 2018: The move towards Universal Social Security by launching the National Health Protection Scheme to cover over 10 crore poor families, impacting approximately 50 crore people, by providing a coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family per annum is a big one.

Budget 2018: I rise to present the Budget for 2018-19. The government, led by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, has successfully implemented a series of fundamental structural reforms. With the result India stands out among the fastest growing economies of the world.

Budget 2018: The rates of income-tax in the case of companies have been specified in Paragraph E of Part III of the First Schedule to the Bill. In case of domestic company, the rate of income-tax shall be twenty five per cent. of the total income if the total turnover or gross receipts of the previous year 2016-17 does not exceed two hundred and fifty crore rupees and in all other cases the rate of Income-tax shall be thirty per cent.

Budget 2018: Describing the budget as “pragmatic”, noted economist Arvind Panagariya today said the coverage of 100 million families for expenses up to Rs 500,000 under government-funded health care is the most significant programme announced by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

“We really haven’t had a chance to fully assess it. But, that said we welcome the fiscal 2019 budget targets, which has a fiscal deficit of 3.3 per cent of GDP which in our view returns budget to a path of gradual fiscal consolidation while keeping in mind the need to provide support to India’s needs and economic recovery,” William Murray, deputy spokesman, International Monetary Fund, told reporters.

Budget 2018: Former prime minister Manmohan Singh today said it is not possible to double farmers’ income by 2022 until the agricultural growth is 12 percent. “The government says farmers’ income will be doubled by 2022. But it’s not possible until the agricultural growth is 12 per cent. Until we achieve that … It is just a hollow assurance,” Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad quoted Singh as saying.

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